What Hollywood Would Look Like if Trans People ACTUALLY Ran the Show

Transgender representation in media is shamefully scarce, offering few avenues for trans people to see their stories represented accurately in the world of entertainment. What’s even rarer is for trans women, especially trans women of color, to call the shots in the industry. But in the film Mother Comes to Venus by trans director Zackary Drucker, that reality is flipped on its head.

The short, which features queer rapper Mykki Blanco and trans actress Alexandra Grey, was made in collaboration with them. and Emmy-winner and Transparent director Jill Soloway’s TOPPLE as part of a series called Queeroes. It depicts a near-ish future where trans people are in control of the narrative, greenlighting projects and marginalizing cis storylines. A Black trans woman named Venus is at the center of it all, shooting down hopes and smoking cigarettes. It’s fun, inspiring, and beautiful to watch. It's set to screen on Saturday, July 14, at the Outfest film festival in Los Angeles.

Drucker took the time to talk to them. for a Q&A on the piece and the inspiration behind it.

This short featured Black queer talent very prominently. Why was that important to you?

In creating more intersectional content, it’s imperative that we bring the folks who are least represented to the front. The inception of this project for me centered around my love for Alexandra Grey, who plays Venus. She was on Transparent season three. It was one of her first roles, and she continued to get roles in Hollywood that were the typical “ailing trans person in the hospital bed.” She was either “dying because of hormones” or a street-based sex worker.

What is it about Alexandra that inspired you?

Over the course of our friendship, Alexandra has been dismayed over and over again that there were no adequate roles in Hollywood to represent the scope of her talent. The writing has not caught up to talent like her. So in creating this film, I took the question literally. What would Hollywood look like if it were run by a Black trans woman — specifically, Alexandra Grey? She’s one of the most talented actresses I’ve ever met. She has an incredible range. She’s always doing these incredible Olivia Pope impressions. So in my mind, I have this archetype of her as a boss, her as a Hollywood heavy hitter who is calling all the shots, and I knew she could pull that out of her back pocket, which she did.

What’s the theme there?

Power is corrosive for everybody, and these conversations we’re having now about equity and leadership, there’s a bigger question — which is, how do we keep that sense of power in check? In Venus’ case, she comes from an authentic place and is motivated by serving her community, but we imagined a space where it was possible for her to lose sight of that so she wasn’t a one-dimensional character.

Talk to me about the cast.

Uh, Mykki Blanco? How lucky were we to have them! To me, Mykki is the ultimate pop star. The short is very character-based, and I think the narrative was shaped around the actors. Jazzmun Crayton plays the mother, who is a spiritual deacon for so many trans people. In LA she works in the nonprofit sector, but also has the longest list of IMDB credits of anyone I know. She’s also had these walk-on roles in big films, typically as a sex worker or performer, and she’s been in the industry for three decades. I was invested in creating juicy roles for them and Alexandra, to have a more diverse array of her talents for her reel.

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What went into the aesthetic and vibe of the short?

I wanted to create this narrative in the near future. We landed on 2035, which is kind, yeah, a number we settled on. The production design was ultimately about creating a futuristic office environment without having a huge budget. We were able to make a miracle. The performances from the actors certainly helped.

What was your favorite part of the process?

My favorite part was being on set. That they were able to assemble an incredible crew and cast that did not look like any other crew. We were really led by women and people of color and queer folks. That felt really empowering for us to have resources to create these narratives. It was really a gift.

What do you hope queer viewers get out of seeing the film?

Possibility. I hope that a young queer viewer will see this and feel that they can do it too.

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